With nearly 30 years experience in Nestlé, Jamadagni Kandige will lead the team of 530 employees
Effectively July 1, Mr. Jamadagni Kandige will take over the responsibility of Nestlé Surčin factory manager.
During almost 30 years in Nestlé, Kandige held numerous managerial positions in Nestlé production around the world: India, Philippines, Malaysia, Ukraine, Moldova and Great Britain.
Currently he holds the position of the director of Purina pet food plant in Wisbech, England, where he has conducted significant improvement in working methods and brilliant results based on a reduction in safety incidents and a visible reduction in consumer complaints, even during the particularly challenging times of the pandemic.
Mrs. Tanja Žigić, current Surčin Factory Manager, will take a next career step as Factory Manager in of the biggest Nestlé Purina factories, in Buk, Hungary.
Tanja’s proven record of business achievements and strong company diversity culture, gave her the trust to lead this very important factory on Nestlé Europe map.
Through the years, she has successfully managed competitiveness of Factory Conversion Cost, which was a major enabler for Food business profit improvement and attraction of different investments, establishing Surčin as important location on the Nestlé Zone Europe Food. Tanja was a true leader of Nestlé culture and team spirit, achieving Safety, Quality and Compliance briliance in working environment.
During Tanja’s leadership, Surčin factory has increased production volumes for 40% (from around 15.000t to more than 20.000 tons annualy), scaled up factory from 330 to 530 employees and expand export markets to more than 40 countries.
“It was a great privilege to lead a great team of people and the transformation in our Surčin factory, establishing it as an important one on Z-EUR Food map. With such embedded efforts, passion and teamwork, it was always motivating for me to bring more and I’m very thankful for this. Within the great potentatial created together, I know that our factory under Jamadagni’s leadership will continue to evolve on a positive way“, said Tanja Žigić on this ocassion.
Nestlé has been operating in Serbia for 18 years already, with production in Surčin and employing more than 700 people. In 2011 Nestlé acquired the production of Centroproizvod, the leading food and beverage local producer. With bringing globally known Nestlé products to Serbia, Surčin factory is being producing a wide range of C, MAGGI, THOMY and Nestlé Professional brands, which exports to more than 40 countries around the world. New extension of the Nestlé factory which will be producing plant-based food portfolio (brand Garden Gourmet), was announced in 2022, and it is the investment of public importance, worth 67 million Swiss francs.
Nestlé Surčin is the first food factory in Serbia that achieved the Zero Waste to Landfill goal, which means that not a single gram of waste from the factory ends up in municipal landfills, but is recycled or used for the production of fertilizers, biofuels or eco-insulation boards. The factory uses exclusively green energy from hydroelectric power plants, and thanks to a wastewater treatment plant worth 1.2 million euros, it purifies 65,000 liters of water a day and returns it clean to Serbian nature. Since 2021, it also has an official certificate of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce for the implementation of dual education.